High Incidence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Older Adults

TUESDAY, Oct. 4, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults have high incidence of cardiovascular risk factors, with increased incidence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia for blacks, according to a study published online Sept. 26 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

George Howard, Dr.P.H., from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues measured the incidence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and atrial fibrillation over 10 years of follow-up in 10,801 community-dwelling adults.

The researchers found that for white men, black men, and black women, there was no evidence of an age-related difference in the incidence of hypertension (P ≥ 0.68), while for white women the incidence increased with age. For white men, black men, and white women the incidence of diabetes mellitus was lower at older ages, while there was no evidence of age-related changes for black women (P = 0.11). The incidence of dyslipidemia was about 20 percent for those aged 45 to 54 years; 30 percent for those aged 54 to 74 years; and 22 percent for those aged ≥75 years for all race-sex groups. The incidence of atrial fibrillation was low at age 45 to 54 years and was about 20 and 11 percent for white and blacks, respectively, for those aged ≥75 years. Across the age spectrum, the incidence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia was higher in blacks, but the incidence of atrial fibrillation was lower.

"Incidence of risk factors remains high in older adults," the authors write.